A new airport.... South Yorkshire Airport City?

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Strategic Review Announcement​

Forums4airports discusses the latest press release from Doncaster Sheffield airport where the airport questions the future of the airport. The owners of the airport, the Peel Group have announced they are looking at their options as the group has decided the airport is no longer viable as an operational airport. Here's the press release:

"The Board of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) has begun a review of strategic options for the Airport. This review follows lengthy deliberations by the Board of DSA which has reluctantly concluded that aviation activity on the site may no longer be commercially viable.

DSA’s owner, the Peel Group, as the Airport’s principal funder, has reviewed the conclusions of the Board of DSA and commissioned external independent advice in order to evaluate and test the conclusions drawn, which concurs with the Board’s initial findings.

Since the Peel Group acquired the Airport site in 1999 and converted it into an international commercial airport, which opened in 2005, significant amounts have been invested in the terminal, the airfield and its operations, both in relation to the original conversion and subsequently to improve the facilities and infrastructure on offer to create an award winning airport.

However, despite growth in passenger numbers, DSA has never achieved the critical mass required to become profitable and this fundamental issue of a shortfall in passenger numbers is exacerbated by the announcement on 10 June 2022 of the unilateral withdrawal of the Wizz Air based aircraft, leaving the Airport with only one base carrier, namely TUI.

This challenge has been increased by other changes in the aviation market, the well-publicised impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly important environmental considerations. It has therefore been concluded that aviation activity may no longer be the use for the site which delivers the maximum economic and environmental benefit to the region. Against this backdrop, DSA and the Peel Group, will initiate a consultation and engagement programme with stakeholders on the future of the site and how best to maximise and capitalise on future economic growth opportunities for Doncaster and the wider Sheffield City Region.

The wider Peel Group is already delivering significant development and business opportunities on its adjoining GatewayEast development including the recent deal for over 400,000 sq ft logistics and advanced manufacturing development on site, creating hundreds of new jobs and delivering further economic investment in the region.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, which includes Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “It is a critical time for aviation globally. Despite pandemic related travel restrictions slowly drawing to a close, we are still facing ongoing obstacles and dynamic long-term threats to the future of the aviation industry. The actions by Wizz to sacrifice its base at Doncaster to shore up its business opportunities at other bases in the South of England are a significant blow for the Airport.

Now is the right time to review how DSA can best create future growth opportunities for Doncaster and for South Yorkshire. The Peel Group remains committed to delivering economic growth, job opportunities and prosperity for Doncaster and the wider region.”

DSA and the Peel Group pride themselves on being forward-thinking whilst prioritising the welfare of staff and customers alike. As such, no further public comments will be made whilst they undertake this engagement period with all stakeholders.
During the Strategic Review, the Airport will operate as normal. Therefore passengers who are due to travel to the airport, please arrive and check in as normal. If there are any disruptions with your flight, you will be contacted by your airline in good time.
For all press enquiries, please contact Charlotte Leach at [email protected]."

"Not great news for DSA or the region"

Should the government or local council foot the bill and provide a financial subsidy to keep the airport open, thoughts...?

 

If and I mean a big IF this ever reopens to passenger flights and say TUI based a few aircraft, you can guarantee 95% of these 130000 signatures will fly from an alternative airport then their beloved DSA.

 

Well I guess it is the “Peoples airport” as it is the tax payers who are paying for it, and no doubt will be underwriting its significant losses for an indefinite period!
Given the dire forecasts about next week’s budget I can see people’s attitude in SY about this airport turning sour quite quickly once the reality of its lack of viability starts to materialise.

I can’t personally see it changing. SYMCA have a pot to spend on certain qualifying projects and the ‘due dilligence’ currently taking place is to satisfy the criteria to enable that funding to be released.

The limited amount of information available regarding the Autumn Budget would suggest the devolution deals will be doubled down on, so expect more autonomy for the way things like business rates are set. No mention of any cutbacks to funding as it’s all about economic growth which CDC are arguing is the reason Doncaster needs its airport.

I’m afraid unless there’s serious misgivings in the business plan then the funding will be waved through and the meeting will be a mere formality. SCC have agreed to support the development in the name of jobs, I think Barnsley and Rotherham are taking a similar stance. They’ve also been warned publicly by the Doncaster Council Chief Exec. All the holes in the Swiss cheese are starting to line up.

Outstanding questions are how much are CDC requesting as part of the project. Is there to be any private sector funding to contribute or match the public sector investment? Are the SYMCA happy to take sustained losses on the chin in the interests of regional GVA? In order to ensure the criteria for economic development is met, does the airport need to attract and retain business oriented connections rather than just act as another departure point for outbound holidaymakers?

It was TUI’s least favourite flight crew base apparently, by that I mean not many people wanted to be based there apart from the ones that lived nearby. Does that factor?

 

Update from Ros Jones issued today.

Final stages of procurement so further news in due course. ‘Not just an airport but a hub for sustainable aviation related industry’.

‘In the medium to long term it will be a jewel in the crown of the economy’.

No idea what the medium of long term actually means, nor what a hub for sustainable aviation industry is either. It’s all very vague but I would expect it to be forced through in a couple of weeks to get the funding approved so that they can get started on formally reopening it. What I do know is that the language is changing and management of expectations has started. An airport with a small a is how I read it.

Welcome back to long term instability and saturation of the market.

 

Update from Ros Jones issued today.

Final stages of procurement so further news in due course. ‘Not just an airport but a hub for sustainable aviation related industry’.

‘In the medium to long term it will be a jewel in the crown of the economy’.

No idea what the medium of long term actually means, nor what a hub for sustainable aviation industry is either. It’s all very vague but I would expect it to be forced through in a couple of weeks to get the funding approved so that they can get started on formally reopening it. What I do know is that the language is changing and management of expectations has started. An airport with a small a is how I read it.

Welcome back to long term instability and saturation of the market.

They'll be announcing DSA as the first UK airship airport! Aren't they planning to build them nearby?

It certainly sounds to me like the language is changing slightly to temper expectations. Perhaps, behind the scenes, there is recognition (finally) that the airlines are not queuing up to operate into a previously failed airport, so if it's to re-open, the airport needs to diversify and not rely on passenger operations beyond very limited numbers, nor freight, given the proximity of EMA and MAN, and with MME also going down that road. Little bits of all sorts and no reliance on anything is the likely outcome. Whether that will justify the money expended remains to be seen.

 

They'll be announcing DSA as the first UK airship airport! Aren't they planning to build them nearby?

It certainly sounds to me like the language is changing slightly to temper expectations. Perhaps, behind the scenes, there is recognition (finally) that the airlines are not queuing up to operate into a previously failed airport, so if it's to re-open, the airport needs to diversify and not rely on passenger operations beyond very limited numbers, nor freight, given the proximity of EMA and MAN, and with MME also going down that road. Little bits of all sorts and no reliance on anything is the likely outcome. Whether that will justify the money expended remains to be seen.

Is that what ‘the people’ want a lot of money spending on?

The council chief exec made an interesting statement on the report of the round table that it’s about shared risks and shared rewards. It’s not clear whether he was referring to the airport when he said this but it’s an interesting point if it is airport related. Is he saying he expects other authority regions to relinquish some gainshare in order to adequately fund the project? Is he suggesting that there will be some matched private sector funding into the project? Are Peel going to be involved given that they are the Gateway East developer?

I’m sure it’ll become more clear in a couple of weeks when they might have released the FBC.

 

Somehow I don't think that 'The People' are necessarily going to get what they are expecting or dreaming about. DSA won't ever be a Heathrow of the North, won't have regular long haul flights to various destinations, won't knock LBA off it's 'Yorkshire's Premier Airport' perch and wont become a major freight centre either.

A bit of this and that with perhaps some aviation based industries seems the most likely outcome .

 

Somehow I don't think that 'The People' are necessarily going to get what they are expecting or dreaming about. DSA won't ever be a Heathrow of the North, won't have regular long haul flights to various destinations, won't knock LBA off it's 'Yorkshire's Premier Airport' perch and wont become a major freight centre either.

A bit of this and that with perhaps some aviation based industries seems the most likely outcome .

Which is why I’ve always been against it.

 

Which is why I’ve always been against it.

I'm sure the politicians know what they're doing!

 

Of course they do, because they are doing it for themselves!

 

I'm sure the politicians know what they're doing!

I’m sure they do, just interested to see the structure of it. Humberside, that tiny forgotten about airport that serves an important purpose has just become profitable again, I’m not sure what impact another airport 30 miles away will have on that. Fine if DSA becomes a major airport as the benefits of that would outweigh having HUY running. But we know what’s highly unlikely don’t we. So we will once again have two airports being unable to serve the region adequately whilst the other ones much further away continue to grow. It won’t save those ‘awful’ car journeys from Donny that’s for sure.

 

I’m sure they do, just interested to see the structure of it. Humberside, that tiny forgotten about airport that serves an important purpose has just become profitable again, I’m not sure what impact another airport 30 miles away will have on that. Fine if DSA becomes a major airport as the benefits of that would outweigh having HUY running. But we know what’s highly unlikely don’t we. So we will once again have two airports being unable to serve the region adequately whilst the other ones much further away continue to grow. It won’t save those ‘awful’ car journeys from Donny that’s for sure.

Awful car journeys for those living near DSA yet these people think it's ok for the people of West Yorkshire , North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire to undertake equally awful journeys to get to DSA and back.

P It's entirely understandable that they want their airport back, but less so that they can't appreciate that few others are that bothered and very few others, relatively speaking, would bother to use it. Their public money is being spent in huge amounts on an equally huge gamble.

 

Update from Ros Jones issued today.

Final stages of procurement so further news in due course. ‘Not just an airport but a hub for sustainable aviation related industry’.

‘In the medium to long term it will be a jewel in the crown of the economy’.

No idea what the medium of long term actually means, nor what a hub for sustainable aviation industry is either. It’s all very vague but I would expect it to be forced through in a couple of weeks to get the funding approved so that they can get started on formally reopening it. What I do know is that the language is changing and management of expectations has started. An airport with a small a is how I read it.

Welcome back to long term instability and saturation of the market.

So reading between the lines, in the short to medium term it’s going to be loss making and a drain on public funds….and maybe in the longer term it may make some cash…but of course nobody knows what shape the aviation will be in then and those involved in wasting public funds will be long gone by then.

They keeping making noises about sustainable aviation, probably to give Ed some cover for any flack he may get from his Green mates….however other then Hybrid air vehicles which remains another highly questionable venture and the Sheffield Uni SAF research and testing centre and a minor Boeing plant (and we all know the issues they are facing!) its just not going to cut the mustard in terms of being and economic enabler…

Doncaster Council do still firmly have a misguided and ill informed belief that DSA will ultimately be another Stansted….this was a response I got from Chris Dingworth (Head of Business Doncaster) when I challenged him in some of the bizarre claims he’d made in recent podcast - “Stantead started as a small regional airport serving outer London. It has taken over 50 years for them to get where they are now. Doncaster Council has taken a 125 year lease on the Airport. There is nothing wrong with having ambition and with an operator that will make it work and the land availability around the site there is no reason this cant happen”

I did point out there is one key reason why this can’t happen ie there just isn’t the market and it’s a complete idiocy to compare the aviation market in SY and the north midlands with Stansted, especially with 6 neighbouring airports within a 2hr drive of DSA.

It does however give some insight to what the Council are thinking, misguided as it is….

 

So reading between the lines, in the short to medium term it’s going to be loss making and a drain on public funds….and maybe in the longer term it may make some cash…but of course nobody knows what shape the aviation will be in then and those involved in wasting public funds will be long gone by then.

They keeping making noises about sustainable aviation, probably to give Ed some cover for any flack he may get from his Green mates….however other then Hybrid air vehicles which remains another highly questionable venture and the Sheffield Uni SAF research and testing centre and a minor Boeing plant (and we all know the issues they are facing!) its just not going to cut the mustard in terms of being and economic enabler…

Doncaster Council do still firmly have a misguided and ill informed belief that DSA will ultimately be another Stansted….this was a response I got from Chris Dingworth (Head of Business Doncaster) when I challenged him in some of the bizarre claims he’d made in recent podcast - “Stantead started as a small regional airport serving outer London. It has taken over 50 years for them to get where they are now. Doncaster Council has taken a 125 year lease on the Airport. There is nothing wrong with having ambition and with an operator that will make it work and the land availability around the site there is no reason this cant happen”

I did point out there is one key reason why this can’t happen ie there just isn’t the market and it’s a complete idiocy to compare the aviation market in SY and the north midlands with Stansted, especially with 6 neighbouring airports within a 2hr drive of DSA.

It does however give some insight to what the Council are thinking, misguided as it is….

Heads in sand!

It's particularly daft given the ongoing anti aviation campaign from those of a global warming persuasion who see flying as the world's great evil despite it generating only 2% of CO2 globally. Growth will still occur in the industry, but there's a reason why small UK airports are struggling to stay afloat and 'new' airports are almost certainly doomed to fail anywhere outside the South East .

 

the budget next week might have a boost for doncaster airport..
and remember, south yorkshire is the largest city region in europe without a commercial airport.
im sure the local population of south yorkshire will not mind if it loses money.
sadly if wizz air does not return i will still be flying from LBA

 

the budget next week might have a boost for doncaster airport..
and remember, south yorkshire is the largest city region in europe without a commercial airport.
im sure the local population of south yorkshire will not mind if it loses money.
sadly if wizz air does not return i will still be flying from LBA

First of all, no it isn’t. And even so, why does it matter? Sheffield people on the whole are quite ambivalent to DSA, they might use it if there’s a flight they want but otherwise they’ll continue to use MAN which isn’t that far away and will always have more choice, as will EMA.

Secondly, why would the budget boost DSA? It’s up to the devolved powers that SYMCA now holds to allocate funding. There might be a bit more available to SYMCA for sure, but do we know how much this project is actually worth yet? So far nothing has been released to the public. Ros Jones clearly managing expectations by once again subtly changing the language she’s using in her statements. I also note some posts on there which were anti-airport have been removed…

Questions will be asked if the airport is once again in the position of losing £10m per year, it will continue to do so unless there is a radical change in the way it does business, and that change might lead people to feel somewhat misled. SYMCA refused to buy equity in the business before for a reason..

 

the budget next week might have a boost for doncaster airport..
and remember, south yorkshire is the largest city region in europe without a commercial airport.
im sure the local population of south yorkshire will not mind if it loses money.
sadly if wizz air does not return i will still be flying from LBA

In view of the narrative coming out of the Chancellor, that would seem unlikely - but who knows!! I agree with you that some elements of the local population - those who understandably want to (and are prepared to at any cost) holiday from their local airport - are unlikely to concern themselves as to how much the airport is costing the majority so long as they get their holiday flight. I guess pressure against the cost will build over time if the project doesn't meet expectations.
Wizz? Who knows whether they will return. I think that they are now serving a substantially different market in West Yorkshire than they did from DSA although I'm sure some of the Lincolnshire 'agricultural' traffic is still retained. They appear to be doing really well in spite of keen competition from FR. A very large number of Eastern Europeans live in West Yorkshire.
It will be really interesting to see what the model for DSA Mk2 is going to be - until then we wait and see (and speculate!)

 

In view of the narrative coming out of the Chancellor, that would seem unlikely - but who knows!! I agree with you that some elements of the local population - those who understandably want to (and are prepared to at any cost) holiday from their local airport - are unlikely to concern themselves as to how much the airport is costing the majority so long as they get their holiday flight. I guess pressure against the cost will build over time if the project doesn't meet expectations.
Wizz? Who knows whether they will return. I think that they are now serving a substantially different market in West Yorkshire than they did from DSA although I'm sure some of the Lincolnshire 'agricultural' traffic is still retained. They appear to be doing really well in spite of keen competition from FR. A very large number of Eastern Europeans live in West Yorkshire.
It will be really interesting to see what the model for DSA Mk2 is going to be - until then we wait and see (and speculate!)

Let’s not also forget that the operators of LBA and EMA will be watching very carefully. One thing DSA did do when it was open before was create a competitive operating environment which reduced the airport charges to be amongst the lowest in the U.K. because DSA was operated on a stack em high sell em cheap ethos and sought to undercut the competition. This only led to major airlines setting up bases at the competitors though, and I’m certain they will be taking advantage of the lead in time that’s likely to result from getting the airport up and running again.

I’ve no doubt TUI will return if the commercial agreements work, but what a new operator may be cautious of is allowing one operator to have overall market domination. This could work if there is a latent demand that wasn’t realised previously, but it could also have a catastrophic effect if not.

I don’t think this is over the line by any stretch yet to be honest, there’s going to have to be a lot of good faith from those holding the money. Unfortunately the belief that DSA can be like STN is prevalent and that’s the justification for the investment.

 

pug, cannot agree with you about the people of sheffield. they hate the 1 hour and 30 minute trip to MAN, when they can get to doncaster in a third of the time.. come november to march it is a terrible journey snow , ice etc.. crossing the pennies. it is the cost factor, bargain holidays where always cheaper from manchester, and you know what they say about yorkshire folk

 

pug, cannot agree with you about the people of sheffield. they hate the 1 hour and 30 minute trip to MAN, when they can get to doncaster in a third of the time.. come november to march it is a terrible journey snow , ice etc.. crossing the pennies. it is the cost factor, bargain holidays where always cheaper from manchester, and you know what they say about yorkshire folk

You can disagree all you want, we have evidence to prove what you’re saying is nonsense.

Even when DSA was open over a million people made the journey over to MAN from South Yorkshire every year. This is something the airport played on when they tried to sell the airport to airlines, I know this because I had seen an approach to an airline I worked for at the time which had detailed O&D stats that had been gained from ticket tracing software. On top of this the charges and incentives on offer were highly attractive.

I know that airports target all airlines with the same information. Fact is the airlines know passengers travel from South Yorkshire to a number of their airports and yet they still cannot justify the expense so far of expanding into the South Yorkshire market. They don’t care how the passengers from SY get to MAN, just that they continue to do so because they don’t want to invest into an airport that has a proven track record of undelivering.

Easyjet had load factors below 70% when they last attempted a small base there, if the demand is there, why is this? Ryanair could never be convinced to establish a base there, preferring LBA EMA and MAN. Again, why is this, their load factors weren’t great, in fact I recall the ALC they ran concurrently from HUY performed better. Why is this? KLM were continuously being contacted to move across from HUY, why didn’t they in spite of much better support packages on offer? Why did wizzair UK pull their base despite originally planning on basing 3 aircraft hence the investment in departure gates prior to closure? Well they did so because the flights weren’t selling. Why when Aer Arran and later Stobart Air ran the Aer Lingus connections to DUB were the load factors barely in double figures? Why did Flybe not sell flights on their AMS and DUB sectors when they pulled the base? All of those flights were just as cheap if not cheaper than what was on offer at MAN.

If it was a one off I could accept that there might have been some issue with the management of the airport or the airlines maybe not putting much effort in. But every airline that pulled out stated lack of passenger support as the primary reason for doing so.

Why is this then? You can hardly blame lack of marketing because millions was spent on this previously, even as going as far as to have TV ads and sponsoring the Sheffield Arena.

In spite of all of this, CDC and SYMCA have chosen to ignore expert advice from York Aviation (and I’ve heard others that I won’t mention because it’s a rumour I’ve heard that I can’t substantiate) in favour of pushing on anyway all in the name of ‘the people’.

It may well reopen, maybe even with a high calibre operator at the helm. But it won’t change the fundamental problem the airport suffered with and was predicted to struggle with before it opened first time around. That is that not enough people will use it and by virtue of that not enough airlines would take an interest in it to make it viable or sustainable.

You still haven’t been able to point out what’s changed? We know what public sector consultancy results in, and it’s usually yes men attempting to make a quick buck. My last hope before millions is pumped into this is that it’s scrutinised fully by an independent industry advisory group before being given the go ahead. Ignore this at their (your) peril.

 

You can disagree all you want, we have evidence to prove what you’re saying is nonsense.

Even when DSA was open over a million people made the journey over to MAN from South Yorkshire every year. This is something the airport played on when they tried to sell the airport to airlines, I know this because I had seen an approach to an airline I worked for at the time which had detailed O&D stats that had been gained from ticket tracing software. On top of this the charges and incentives on offer were highly attractive.

I know that airports target all airlines with the same information. Fact is the airlines know passengers travel from South Yorkshire to a number of their airports and yet they still cannot justify the expense so far of expanding into the South Yorkshire market. They don’t care how the passengers from SY get to MAN, just that they continue to do so because they don’t want to invest into an airport that has a proven track record of undelivering.

Easyjet had load factors below 70% when they last attempted a small base there, if the demand is there, why is this? Ryanair could never be convinced to establish a base there, preferring LBA EMA and MAN. Again, why is this, their load factors weren’t great, in fact I recall the ALC they ran concurrently from HUY performed better. Why is this? KLM were continuously being contacted to move across from HUY, why didn’t they in spite of much better support packages on offer? Why did wizzair UK pull their base despite originally planning on basing 3 aircraft hence the investment in departure gates prior to closure? Well they did so because the flights weren’t selling. Why when Aer Arran and later Stobart Air ran the Aer Lingus connections to DUB were the load factors barely in double figures? Why did Flybe not sell flights on their AMS and DUB sectors when they pulled the base? All of those flights were just as cheap if not cheaper than what was on offer at MAN.

If it was a one off I could accept that there might have been some issue with the management of the airport or the airlines maybe not putting much effort in. But every airline that pulled out stated lack of passenger support as the primary reason for doing so.

Why is this then? You can hardly blame lack of marketing because millions was spent on this previously, even as going as far as to have TV ads and sponsoring the Sheffield Arena.

In spite of all of this, CDC and SYMCA have chosen to ignore expert advice from York Aviation (and I’ve heard others that I won’t mention because it’s a rumour I’ve heard that I can’t substantiate) in favour of pushing on anyway all in the name of ‘the people’.

It may well reopen, maybe even with a high calibre operator at the helm. But it won’t change the fundamental problem the airport suffered with and was predicted to struggle with before it opened first time around. That is that not enough people will use it and by virtue of that not enough airlines would take an interest in it to make it viable or sustainable.

You still haven’t been able to point out what’s changed? We know what public sector consultancy results in, and it’s usually yes men attempting to make a quick buck. My last hope before millions is pumped into this is that it’s scrutinised fully by an independent industry advisory group before being given the go ahead. Ignore this at their (your) peril.

All very relevant reasons why DSA failed and lets remember, since it closed, LBA, Man and EMA are all investing huge sums of money developing their airports with more flights and more capacity, so even harder for a re opened DSA to survive